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Alphonsus - Patron Saint of Theologians
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 Feastday:
August 1
St. Alphonsus was born in the village of
Marianella near Naples, Italy, September 27, 1696.
At a tender age his pious mother inspired him with
the deepest sentiments of piety. The education he
received under the auspices of his father, aided by
his own intellect, produced in him such results that
at the early age of sixteen, he graduated in law.
Shortly after, he was admitted to the Neopolitan
bar. In 1723, he lost a case, and God made use of
his disappointment to wean his heart from the world.
In spite of all opposition he now entered the
ecclesiastical state. In 1726, he was ordained a
priest. He exercised the ministry at various places
with great fruit, zealously laboring for his own
sanctification. In 1732, God called him to found the
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, with the
object of laboring for the salvation of the most
abandoned souls. Amid untold difficulties and
innumerable trials, St. Alphonsus succeeded in
establishing his Congregation, which became his
glory and crown, but also his cross. The holy
founder labored incessantly at the work of the
missions until, about 1756, he was appointed Bishop
of St. Agatha, a diocese he governed until 1775,
when broken by age and infirmity, he resigned this
office to retire to his convent where he died. Few
saints have labored as much, either by word or by
writing, as St. Alphonsus. He was a prolific and
popular author, the utility of whose works will
never cease. His last years were characterized by
intense suffering, which he bore with resignation,
adding voluntary mortifications to his other pains.
His happy death occurred at Nocera de Pagani, August
1, 1787.
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